Yarwun Alumina Refinery

Yarwun Alumina Refinery is an aluminium smelter in Australia with a reported capacity of 3,400,000 t of alumina/aluminum. It smelts alumina into primary aluminium by high-current electrolysis. It is operated by Rio Tinto Ltd. By capacity it ranks #3 of 15 aluminium smelters tracked in Australia. It emits about 4,459,950 tonnes of CO₂e per year (Climate TRACE) — roughly the tailpipe emissions of 1,039,615 cars. Its CO₂ per unit of capacity is about 37% below the median aluminium smelter.

Facility data: Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0), id ct-43765108.

Im Kontext: wie sich diese Anlage vergleicht

Bei 3,400,000 t of alumina/aluminum ist Yarwun Alumina Refinery deutlich über dem Medianwert von aluminium smelter in Australia (974,163 t of alumina/aluminum). Untersektor: aluminum. Als aluminium smelter benötigt es intensive Prozesswärme (typischerweise 600–900°C) für seinen Kernbetrieb — Wärme, die durch Dampfkessel, Öfen oder direkte Verbrennung geliefert werden muss, und Verluste durch ungedämmte Behälter und Rohrleitungen stellen verschwendeten Brennstoff dar. Modulare abnehmbare Dämmung kann diese Verluste um 80–96% senken, Oberflächen auf ≤45°C kühlen, mit Amortisationszeiten oft unter 2 Jahren. Aluminiumhütten nutzen große Elektroströme, um Tonerde in geschmolzenes Aluminium über 900°C zu raffinieren, und das heiße Metall muss durch Tiegel und Gießausrüstung fließen.

Vergleich von Kapazität und CO₂-Intensität berechnet aus Climate TRACE Industrieanlagendaten; Sektorrolle basierend auf Ingenieurreferenz.

What 4,459,950 t CO₂e a year looks like

This facility's reported annual CO₂e in the everyday equivalents from the US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies calculator:

Equivalencies: US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies. Emissions: Climate TRACE.

Capacity vs largest aluminium smelters in Australia

Reported capacity (t of alumina/aluminum), Climate TRACE v6 (asset-level capacity & CO₂e, CC BY 4.0).

Operator

Operated by Rio Tinto Ltd. All facilities by this operator →

Local climate

Yarwun Alumina Refinery sits in a humid subtropical climate zone (Köppen Cfa), at 23.8°S in the southern hemisphere.

Köppen zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).

How it compares & nearby sites

The #3 largest of 15 aluminium smelters in Australia by reported capacity.

Nearby industrial sites

• Gladstone Cement Plant · Cement Plant · 362,639 t CO₂
• Boyne Island aluminium plant · Aluminium Smelter · 1,072,034 t CO₂
• Gladstone Region · Aluminium Smelter · 2,076,521 t CO₂

Location

Coordinates -23.82684, 151.15372. View on OpenStreetMap.

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Frequently asked questions